Associated British Foods, the owner of the Dublin-based fashion chain Penneys, will publish a trading statement this week. Penneys, or Primark as it trades in the UK and on the continent, has become the main driver of ABF's growth in recent years. Primark has been a big winner on the high street in the UK thanks to its low prices but analysts will be keen to find out if the company was affected by the snow over Christmas, which kept shoppers at home and hit trading at rivals Next and Marks & Spencer. The lack of an online purchasing platform may have hit the retailer worse than its peers during the bad weather but Primark always seems to find a way to prove everybody wrong. The trading statement from ABF is due to be released early on Thursday morning.